Ph.D. in Global Management

Overview

The PhD program at SolBridge International School of Business provides students with a rigorous academic foundation to be creative minds in academia. Faculty at SolBridge inspire students to be the next generation of thought leaders for teaching and research positions at leading academic and research institutions.

The PhD program at SolBridge has been structured to provide a unique blend of strong conceptual foundations and methodological skills. Doctoral students will work closely with world-class faculty at SolBridge who have broad expertise across all areas of management, marketing, finance, accounting, strategy, and organizational behavior.

Our program also nurtures scholar-practitioners who can provide meaningful contributions to the advancement of business knowledge and practice. SolBridge encourages doctoral students to dive into diverse topics with real-world implications.


Program Details

  • Intake / Spring & Fall

    Intake

    Spring & Fall

  • Duration / Minimum of 3 Years

    Duration

    3 Years
    (2 Years for Course Work
    + 1 Year for Dissertation)

  • Credits / 36

    Credits

    36
    (21 Core & 15 Electives)

  • Location / Daejeon, South Korea

    Location

    Daejeon, South Korea

  • Language / English

    Language

    English


About The Program

The PhD Program at SolBridge builds on the knowledge and skills of students who have completed master’s level in business and related disciplines. In this program students will gain a solid grounding in management and research theory and practice through foundational subjects, including economics, strategy, marketing, organizational behavior, and management. Students will develop a strong background in theoretical knowledge and research fundamentals. Our focus is on delivering the highest quality doctoral education and supporting students for the completion of course works, and for the preparation of a comprehensive examination and thesis writing.

A unique strength of our program is our attentions to collaborations between doctoral students and faculty. Each student will be matched with a faculty member upon admission to the program, and they will work closely with faculty on research projects of mutual interest.

Students will learn various methodologies that are required to pursue their research interests, including field studies, statistical analysis, behavioral experiments, and theoretical and empirical modelling. SolBridge provides comprehensive support for methodological and statistical consultation, data collection and analysis, programming, and thesis preparation. Our post-doctoral researchers at SolBridge will offer tutoring and consultation services to all students.

In this Doctoral degree program you will:

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Study the core elements of management knowledge and skill, including human resource management, organizational behavior and development, analytics, leadership, and change management.

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Gain insight into the latest management theories and practices through case studies, instructor lectures, group projects, and active learning experiences.


Why SolBridge?

First, SolBridge provides the highest quality doctoral education. SolBridge’s education has been accredited by AACSB. AACSB accredits business schools with the highest-quality faculty that deliver relevant and challenging curriculum and provide excellent educational and career opportunities for students.

Second, SolBridge provides comprehensive support to doctoral students for their completion of degree requirements. Our post-doctoral researchers at SolBridge Research Institute of Asian Enterprises will work closely with doctoral students. They will teach methodology and statistics courses, and they also provide tutoring and consultation services for the thesis preparation. They are competent researchers with broad expertise in research methodology and statistical analysis.

Third, SolBridge promotes strong collaborations between doctoral students and faculty. Each incoming student will be matched with a faculty member, and they will work closely with faculty on research projects of mutual interest. Our faculty are world-class scholars with degrees from prestigious international universities.

Fourth, proficiency in Korean is not required. SolBridge is a respected international school with fully English-taught degree programs and international faculty. We also provide English editing assistance for doctoral students in their thesis writing.


Curriculum

The Ph.D. in Global Management program is also divided in two parts: Core and Elective courses.
Students are required to complete 36 credit hours including a thesis (21 credits from Core and 15 credits in Elective majors). Each Doctorate candidate must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in order to graduate.

The duration of the program is 3 years (2 years for coursework and 1 year for dissertation). However, if the student is not ready to graduate, the period can be extended to 4 or 5 years.

The components of the curriculum are:


Core Courses

Courses Credits
Research Methods ▼
Course Description
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the main elements of research methodology. Particularly, it introduces the principles of research philosophy, approaches, and methods. It also deals with data collection tools employed in business research, including interviews, questionnaires, and qualitative data collection.
3/3
Quantitative Methods I ▼
Course Description
This course introduces the basic concepts of data analysis and statistical computing, both increasingly used in the social sciences and the humanities. It teaches students to Identify the correct statistical technique by focusing on the problem objective and data type, compute the statistics, and interpret results in the context of the problem. It also teaches basic concepts for statistical inference and data management.
3/3
Quantitative Methods II ▼
Course Description
This course introduces multivariate statistical techniques used within the social and the behavioral sciences – regression analysis, logistic regression. factor analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA and structural Equations modelling (SEM). Our emphasis is on the applications of these techniques to research questions.
3/3
Thesis Research I ▼
Course Description
This course helps doctoral candidates to develop research capabilities for their completion of a doctoral thesis. With assistance of instructors, students will identify and develop a research topic, and continue to develop a full study for a thesis. Students will review relevant literature, identity research gaps, propose research hypotheses, and design the proposed research.
3/3
Thesis Research II ▼
Course Description
Students will continue to carry out research with the concepts developed in Thesis Research I. Students will write a concept paper with finalized research hypotheses and research design for data collection and analysis. The final concept paper can be further developed to be a doctoral thesis.
3/3
Doctoral Seminar I ▼
Course Description
This is a 3-credit course that will include presentations by invited speakers and/or faculty members, professional development sessions, and student presentations. The course is intended to help facilitate the development of students’ dissertation research ideas and to contribute to the student’s professional development focusing on research skills, typically not provided in coursework. Students will also lead discussions and presentations on methods being used in their dissertations and preliminary results (if available).
3/3
Doctoral Seminar II ▼
Course Description
This is an additional 3-credit course that will include presentations by invited speakers and/or faculty members, professional development sessions, and student presentations. The course is intended to help facilitate the development of students’ dissertation research ideas and to contribute to the student’s professional development focusing on research skills, typically not provided in coursework. Students will also lead discussions and presentations on methods being used in their dissertations and preliminary results (if available).
3/3

Elective Courses

Courses Credits
Advanced Topics in Business Economics ▼
Course Description
This course deals with economic theory, econometric methodology, mathematical economics and the latest economic theory which are the basis of understanding of business administration.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Organization Theory ▼
Course Description
The aim of this course is to clarify the system of management theory and to cultivate the ability to acquire knowledge of management field based on the system. The study of business administration starts from the management field based on Pragmatism, which emphasizes objective results, and studies how to rationalize the problem solved in the actual management field. This course focuses on the practical and technical issues of business management, which is based on the viewpoint of pragmatism.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Marketing I ▼
Course Description
The course focuses on analyzing the marketing management functions that have the greatest direct impact on the business performance of companies operating in domestic and foreign markets from a strategic point of view. Based on the general process of marketing strategy planning focusing on the marketing activities of the company, students will examine the marketing research, market evaluation, market segmentation, target market selection, and marketing mix strategy with sample cases. We will study how to use the knowledge gained through this learning process to present prescription options and alternatives.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Marketing II ▼
Course Description
An advanced study of marketing theory relating to contemporary issues. Emphasis is on providing students with in-depth knowledge of key topics and asking them to critically evaluate the field. Examples of topics covered include branding; customer relationship management (CRM); marketing strategy, and corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance I ▼
Course Description
The main content of this course is to systematically study theories that guide corporate financial management behavior and to understand the overall financial situation and future directions. How to raise and operate funds in the management of modern enterprises is a very important part of the company's growth and survival. In this course, students first study the main contents discussed in corporate finance and study the basic logic and theoretical basis of major financial theory applied to corporate finance. Then, by examining the cases of realistic application of major financial theory, students will combine theory and practice and cultivate practical application ability. Practical and concrete learning and case analysis on corporate investment decisions, capital procurement decisions, and risk management will be systematized.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance II ▼
Course Description
The goal of this course is to develop the analytical skills for making corporate investment with regards to financial decisions and risk analysis. This course will examine various theories including the concept of present value, the opportunity cost of capital, discounted cash flow analysis, a consortium of valuation techniques, issues between short & long term financial management, risk and return, capital asset pricing model, capital budgeting, corporate capital structure and financing decisions, dividend policy, investment and financial decisions in the international context, including exchange rate/interest rate risk analysis, and issues of corporate governance and control.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Management I ▼
Course Description
This course examines a range of important theories in the management field. The basic elements of these theories will be discussed. Ways in which these theories are invoked and operationalized in empirical and conceptual studies will also be discussed. Some of the theories that will be covered include agency theory, resource based view, transaction cost economics, resource dependence theory, stakeholder theory, critical management theory and institutional theory. A strong emphasis will be placed on linking these theories to the various research topics in management.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Management II ▼
Course Description
This subject examines advanced themes and issues in the theory and practice of management. Embedded in the critical examination of competitive advantage as derived from sources internal and external to the firm, this subject is designed to provide students with an appreciation of management as a value-added approach to conceptualizing the firm and its environment in pursuit of optimum rewards. Students will progress through a variety of process, content and contextual considerations to secure an advanced perspective of the management discipline.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Corporate Strategy I ▼
Course Description
The course covers a general introduction to strategy in order to create a common platform for the discussions pertaining to corporate strategy. The course covers two main themes, namely (a) the organization of global business and collaboration (e.g., strategic alliances, networks, diversification, global sourcing, and vertical integration), as well as (b) how to create value in a global context (e.g., research and development strategies, value capture, and risk and uncertainty).
3/3
Advanced Topics in Corporate Strategy II ▼
Course Description
This course explores current research on corporate strategy. The fundamental focus of the field has been on sources of competitive advantage at the of the firm, and the process of building and maintaining competitive advantage. In this class, we explore current research articles that best represent the development of rent-generating resources at the level of the firm.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Accounting I ▼
Course Description
This course provides an introductory survey of topics in empirical accounting research with an emphasis on financial accounting issues. Specific topics will vary by year but may include financial disclosure, earnings quality, corporate governance, financial analysts, taxation, and selected international issues.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Accounting II ▼
Course Description
This course focuses on research methods in managerial accounting research. Topics covered include agency models of performance evaluation and control, decentralization and transfer pricing, productivity measurement, data envelopment analysis, financial and non-financial information in performance measurement, product and process quality measurement, accounting in advanced manufacturing technologies, budgeting and costing systems.
3/3
Advanced Topics in International Business ▼
Course Description
This course is designed to understand the phenomenon and causes of overseas trade in the region, based on a hypothesis necessary to scientifically empirical data collection. This course corporate observations, interview surveys, telephone surveys, etc., and helps to learn scientific data analysis processes and to do interpretations.
3/3
Advanced Topics in Applied Research ▼
Course Description
Focuses on advanced principles and practices of applied research. Topics covered will include the ethics of research activities, how a topic might be investigated from multiple approaches and philosophical perspectives, and the key components of an applied research project and preparation of research for conference presentation.
3/3

*Courses may change according to students’ requests.


Graduation Requirements

  • Completion of 36 credits or more, being 21 from Core courses and 15 from Elective courses
  • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • Passing general comprehensive Graduation Exam
  • Graduation thesis
  • Before the Thesis defense, the student must publish as the lead/first author in at least one journal from the “Korean Journal of General Association (KCI)” or as a contributing author in (including SCI, SSCI, Scopus)
  • International PhD candidates must have a minimum of IELTS 6 (or corresponding) for English language proficiency. Those who submit a language transcript that meets the above conditions at the time of admission are exempt from submitting a language transcript upon graduation.

Admission Requirements

  • Master Degree or Expected Graduation Certificate
  • Transcripts from the last obtained Graduate School Degree
  • Research Proposal & Education Plan (download the template here)
  • Certificate of Employment (if applicable)
  • Two letters of recommendation (professional or academic)
  • Resume/CV
  • IELTS or equivalent English proficiency score (no minimum score required)
  • Proof of finances – a bank statement that confirms the possession of USD 16,000 in your/your sponsor’s bank account. It should also be stamped or signed by the bank (If the bank statement is not under your name, the proof of relationship is required)

Program Cost

The tuition cost for the Ph.D. in Global Management program is $6,890 USD per semester. Enrollment fee is $760 and it is a one-time payment. This amount can be increased by 2% ~ 5% between semesters.

The program has a total of 2 semesters per year (Spring and Fall).


Want to Know more?

Contact us at info@solbridge.ac.kr and receive more details about our Ph.D. program.

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